I suspect the shunning mandate is the major difference. The Mormons were smug enough to actually think they were right and wouldn't need any further shackles. Now with the latest church admissions on hot topics the core members are either hunkering down into extra committment mode or leaving.
Posts by Qcmbr
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85Mormons getting hollowed out: The tipping point has occurred.
by Qcmbr inever since mitt romney turned the spotlight on the lds church a growing tsunami of disaffection has been accelerated and brought to a head.. the lds core faithful members are leaving in increasing numbers such that growth has not simply stagnated in the west but it has actively reversed.
to their credit the church is responding aggressively but not only is it too late, it is an impossible task.
you can only paint sh*t so many ways.
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85
Mormons getting hollowed out: The tipping point has occurred.
by Qcmbr inever since mitt romney turned the spotlight on the lds church a growing tsunami of disaffection has been accelerated and brought to a head.. the lds core faithful members are leaving in increasing numbers such that growth has not simply stagnated in the west but it has actively reversed.
to their credit the church is responding aggressively but not only is it too late, it is an impossible task.
you can only paint sh*t so many ways.
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Qcmbr
Additional Stats from UK for mormon collapse plus reddit fugures breakdown plus my ha'penneth:
- UK LDS church is leaking money and is being supported by US mother church.
- Average activity rate of members, calculated by tithing and observation, is ~11 - 17%
- Despite 1700 baptisms, I presume excluding baptisms of children of members, actual fugures decreased by 1000. This indicates the more considered step of name removal (most just fade); the total membership figures include convert baptisms and children of record baptisms so to actually decrease by 1000 means 1700+500 (made up - its higher) = 2200 ergo 3200 had their name removed or died - that indicates a drop in membership of 10 people per church unit in 1 year. Mainly hard core members opt for name removal (it actually means something to them and is worth the effort.) The figures reported absolutely hide a decrease in activity. The closure of operating church units and the lack of new buildings does not.
- 2014 effect of essays and further disaffections not yet in stats. Will be very interesting.
http://www.mormonfileleaks.com/finances.html
http://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/2pibtd/lds_accounts_for_uk_in_2013_summary_in_comments/
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Religions helping hand in poverty.
by Gratefullyunstuck insomething i picked up and thought would sit nicely on here.
strangely, guess which organisation boast about their growth in these countries, you can imagine on the ministry, fat western pioneer 'can you imagine a life without hunger and suffering?
' joke!
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Qcmbr
The real solution to poverty is:
- reducing the population to the carrying capacity of the land + technology + resources.
- implementing equality laws that provide eqal rights to all people whether they be make or female, rich or poor.
- a free market where all have equal barriers to trade and equal opportunities to overcome those barriers (i.e. access to loans, technology and intellectual capacity.)
In all aspects Abrahamic religions have consistently worked in the completely opposite direction from fighting against family planning through to anti equality and unfair market conditions (e.g. taxation laws.)
It was never about charity - a charitable institution is only required when the system is fundamentally broken and is failing to allow people the chance to work themselves out of poverty.
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Mormon Church Founder had 33 wives
by designs inwe know russell, rutherford franz and knorr wer kooky but joseph smith takes the cake.. the salt lake tribune of all newspapers has run an article on the lds founder's 33 wives, most of whom were teenagers.. http://www.sltrib.com/news/173364-155/plural-smith-joseph-marriage-lds-says.
would you stay an lds after knowing this, how would you rationalize staying with this knowledge.. .
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Mormon Church Founder had 33 wives
by designs inwe know russell, rutherford franz and knorr wer kooky but joseph smith takes the cake.. the salt lake tribune of all newspapers has run an article on the lds founder's 33 wives, most of whom were teenagers.. http://www.sltrib.com/news/173364-155/plural-smith-joseph-marriage-lds-says.
would you stay an lds after knowing this, how would you rationalize staying with this knowledge.. .
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Qcmbr
Members are haemorrhaging. My old ward is down to 65 active members from a post -split high of 130(10 years ago) odd (105 when I left 5 years or so ago). One member visited this Sunday and we number crunched (he's almost out as well.)
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Can a religion claim: Only we have the truth?
by Kalos intruth is self-evident (things like: the whole is greater than its part ....).. truth is always right (things like: caring for the accident victim helplessly bleeding on the road ....).. claiming: only we have the truth is like claiming: only my university is useful.
history shows that many school/college drop-outs have made significant contributions to the society like many those who completed their education!
and on the contrary, many school/college drop-outs have made significant damage to the society like some of those who completed their education!
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Qcmbr
If a religion doesnt claim this then they have no internal integrity.
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Atheists and Anger...
by new hope and happiness inare you an angry atheist?.
personally i wish i could say anger is to strong a word, but from my point of view :-.
a)i am angry that religion teaches children to hate " worldly people" at least that was my experience ad a j.w.
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Qcmbr
I am many things and depending on circumstance each of those personality bits and pieces come to the fore. When I'm discussing religion , depending on context, I either reveal my atheist side ('I do not believe in god') or my anti-theist side ('I do not accept concept <x> because...'). Sometimes the topic under discussion / situation lends itself to various emotions and since I have left mormonism I no longer feel a salesman's duty to suppress emotional states for the religion's sake, in fact , as part of my new found authentic identify I accept natural states and try to use them rather than suppress them. When I feel anger (or disgust etc.) I can normally trace it to an indignation with a moral scenario (injustice, bullying etc..) and I now accept that anger can be 'righteous' and dare I say it - hate can also have a place. I am happy to own my hatred of concepts that once I had to incorporate into my mormon identity (patriarchalism and sometime disregard for life for example.)
tl:dr Sometimes I am an angry anti-theist; sometimes I am a joyful atheist. For everything there is a season.
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Qcmbr
Tips hat.
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Should the constitution be amended to make being and adherent of Islam a crime?
by confusedandalone insince isis is killing people in the middle east and apparently they are invaded the rest of the earth with their hateful beliefs should we as americans take the steps necessary to amend the constitution to say something along the lines of .
congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion except in regards to islam, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof except in regards to islam; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble except in regards to islam, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.. .
thoughts?
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Qcmbr
So we are left with you either trolling (in which case well played) or monologuing an inconsistent vent against <person|country|concept> (in which case my advice is to chill out , have your say with a bit of tact and then enjoy people sharing their views.)
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Pinker on Terrorism .... Self-Defeating
by jgnat inhttp://chronicle.com/article/era-in-ideas-terrorism/128490/.
his conclusion, .
"even when they are not rooted out by states, terrorist groups carry the seeds of their own destruction.
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Qcmbr
Aren't ISIS a little bit more than a small terrosist group? I would suggest that ISIS has vast amounts of money, equipment and a worldwide recruiting space that includes plenty of disenfranchised or unemployed or radical young men.